Lives in the Yiddish
TheatreSHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF THOSE INVOLVED IN
THE Yiddish THEATRE
aS DESCRIBED IN zALMEN zYLBERCWEIG'S "lEKSIKON FUN YIDISHN TEATER"1931-1969

Itzhak Friedman

F. was born on 11 November
1893 in Libivne, Poland. His father and grandfather were
scribes. As a child he moved with his family to Kovel,
Volin Gubernia, and there received a strong Orthodox
upbringing.

After his father went off to
America (1905), F. became a member in the "Kleine Bund,"
and several years later he went to his father in America
(Newark, New Jersey). Here he became a frequent visitor
to the Yiddish theatre, then a stand-in, and soon
thereafter founded a dramatic circle, in which he
performed as "Gedalye" in Gordin's "Brothers Lurie."
Shortly thereafter he played in small roles with the
local Yiddish theatre (director Jacob Frank), then he
became a role re-writer, stsener and a small-role
player in the same theatre (managers Nathan Goldberg and
Abe Sincoff). Later, already as a member of the Yiddish
Actors' Union, he played in Brownsville, New York, and
continued to work as a role-writer in Philadelphia with
Mike Thomashefsky, then there he began to play roles,
and then played for six weeks with Bertha Kalich in New
York's National Theatre.

During the First World War
he served a year at the French front. He returned
wounded, and then initially in the 1920-1 season he
again began to play Yiddish theatre with Jacob P. Adler,
Leon Blank, Samuel Goldenburg, Jacob Ben Ami and others.
Then for three years he played in the troupes of Lucy
and Misha German, where he had the opportunity to play
several roles as "Chatzkel

Drachme" in "God, Man and
Devil," "Gote" in "A Faraway Corner," "Elkanah" in
"Green Fields," "Katarinarzh" in "Motke the Thief," "Prokop"
in "Dorfsyung," "The Rabbi" in ""Yizkor," and "Isaac" in
"The Idle Inn."

In 1926-28 he played in
Chicago with Glickman, 1928-30 in Brooklyn's Rolland
Theatre, 1930-31 he played in Boston, 1931-32 again in
the Rolland Theatre.

On 8 November 1929 in the
Hopkinson Theatre, under the direction of Jacob
Rechtzeit, there was staged his comedy-drama, "Itzikl
gonev," music by Arnold Perlmutter.

In 1930 F. published in the
"Forward" his account of the war, under the name "A Year
Between Life and Death," which in 1932 was published in
New York in book form and quickly sold out in several
reprints. In the introduction to the book Ab. Cahan
wrote:

"Itzhak Freidman's book, 'A
Year Between Life and Death,' was written with a
simplicity of every sort, which is closely connected
internally to the inerlekhn zin of reality, [more
of citation left to translate...]"

On 21 February 1931 in the
Rolland Theatre, there was staged the musical comedy in
three acts, "Libe oyf oystsoln," by Israel Rosenberg and
Itzhak Freidman, music by Sholom Secunda, with Misha and
Lucy German in the main roles.

In 1931 in Toronto there was
staged F.'s melodrama, "Hinter farshlosene tirn."

During the 1932 season, at
the Hopkinson Theatre, there was staged with Menasha
Skulnik in the title role, F.'s and Israel Rosenberg's,
"Getzel Becomes a Groom," which then was also played by
other comics across the entire world under various
names, and in August 1938 by Leo Fuchs in Argentina.

F. joined the Second Avenue
Theatre, where he played for several seasons, or with
Menasha Skulnik and Herman Yablokoff, or especially with
them, and here there were staged his plays:

In 1934, in the Lyric
Theatre and then the Prospect Theatre, "Oh Promise Me."

In October 1935 "Papirossen"
(in the McKinley Square Theatre).

In December 1936 "The
Dishwasher." [regarding these three plays, the actor
Herman Yablokoff declared in writing that they and the
later mentioned were written on the themes of his songs,
which had become very popular, were actually written by
him, Yablokoff. F, as a professional writer, had them
participate only with advice and actually received only
a fert-khlk of oytorn honorarrium, due to
taktishe temim, his name as author.]

In February 1939 in the
McKinley Square Theatre there was staged Israel
Rosenberg's and F.'s melodrama "Zol a froy mukhl zayn?"

In November 1940 in the
Second Avenue Theatre there was staged F.'s [also
a Yablokoff play] "Goldele dem bekers (Goldele the
Baker's Daughter)," music by Ilya Trilling, with
Yablokoff, Skulnik and Bella Mysell in the main roles.

In November 1940 in the
Parkway Theatre there was staged F.'s and S. H. Cohen's
"Der nayer mensh (The New Man)," a radio sensation,
music by A. Olshanetsky, with Michalesko, Miriam Kressyn,
Jacob Rechtzeit, Dora Weisman, Eli Mintz and Yetta
Zwerling.

In October 1941 in the
Public Theatre there was staged by Herman Yablokoff F.'s
operetta, "Mayn vayse blum (My White Flower)" [also a
Yablokoff play], music by Joseph Rumshinsky.

In March 1942 Leo Fuchs
played in Chicago in F.'s "Men darf makhn a lebn (People
Should Make a Life?)."

In the 1942 season Menasha
Skulnik staged in the Second Avenue Theatre "Mayn khaver
Yosl (My Friend Yosl)," in two acts and twelve scenes by
Itzhak Friedman and William Siegel, lyrics by Isidore
Lillian, music by Sholom Secunda.

On 9 October 1943 in the
Second Avenue Theatre there was staged F.'s "Mazeldike
teg (Lucky Days)," music by Sholom Secunda.

In New York's "Second Avenue
Theatre" there was also staged F.'s "A gute bshurh (Good
News)," music by Joseph Rumshinsky, and "Mazeldiker
bukher," "Der shtroyener soldat (The Straw Soldier),"
which Menasha Skulnik had portrayed.

In the archive of his widow
one finds records on the following in
Washington-registered plays:

"Mayn redio svithard
(My Radio Sweetheart?)," a play in two acts
(registered 11 December 1928)

"Mayn mans tokhter
(My Husband's Daughter?)," a lebensbild in three
acts (registered on 30 July 1931)

"Shmaye fun kolomea
(Shmay From Kolomea?)," a musical comedy in two
acts (registered 24 October 1936)

"Libe iz muzik (Love
and Music?)," a romantic spectacle in two acts
(registered 20 May 1937)